The Interflora World Cup kicks off – Day 4

Friday was the official start to the competition with the first two rounds. In the morning the representative of each country had to finish off their designer’s choice piece, which they had planned in advance.

Neil Whittaker, Great Britain’s representative, took us through the planning stages of his design in the video in Thursday’s post.

Click through to see the video of his finished design….

The second part of the day involved the host’s choice surprise item. Each contestant was given the same flowers and had to create a design in an hour.

Friday was also open to the public and it was great to see so many people interested in the World Cup.

Our reporter, Dave Clancy, got the chance to catch up with judge Karen Barnes. You can see a snippet of that interview in the video below.

Dave also got the chance to have a chat with Lynda Owen, Neil’s manager. She said: “It’s great to work with two total professionals who are dedicated in their pursuit to get the world cup. This has been a year’s hard work for these boys and it has been terrific.”

Dave asked Lynda if she was using the same approach as she did when she managed the last Interflora world champion, David Denyer. “All designers are different but my role is the same as it was with David. It is slightly easier this time because I’ve been here before and know what to expect.”

Anthony Williams, Neil’s assistant, is just as happy to be at the World Cup. He said: “It’s something we’ve wanted and worked on for such a long time.”

“I love the designing and the mechanics of it. I, and everyone else in the shop, feel just as much a part of it as Neil. It’s only when he’s competing and I’m sat outside twiddling my thumbs and panicking that I’d rather be competing.”

The next video shows Neil introducing the designs for Saturday’s rounds.